The editor user interface

Getting started

When the product starts up you are working on a movie called 'untitled'. You are ready to start adding frames to the movie. When you are ready to save your work you will be asked to give it a name and a .csm file is created on disk.

The timeline window

Every layer in a movie has a timeline and the top scrollable panel displays these timelines. By clicking on the timeline and using the colored timeline icons buttons it is possible to add, change and delete events on the timelines.

The movie window

The area below the timelines shows a single frame which represents what the user will see at various times in the movie. When you click on a timeline then the movie window will show the state of the movie at that time. If the selected time is in the middle of a 'move' event then the window will correctly show the correct position within the move at the time selected.

By clicking and selecting a particular layer the only that layer is visible in the movie window. Drawing operations can then be carried out on that layer. To display, but not edit, other layers then the key button on the timelines can be pressed.

The Options tab

Clicking on the options tab allows access to a number options relevant to the current movie as well as system wide settings.